Holiday park owners back in business and urging people to book staycations

The couple own Stable Park Holiday Park and Storage at Within Lane, Hopton, in Staffordshire and have begun welcoming back families to their sites,

Bill, aged 57, and Adele, aged 56, also own Ivy Cottage Retired and Semi-Retried Residential Park in the village.

But during lockdown they were determined not to rest on their laurels and acquired Oak Tree Holiday Park and Fishery at Haxey in Lincolnshire.

The sites are 90 miles apart and the couple now face dashes between the two areas.

Adele said: "We have been living at Ivy Cottage but are moving to Oak Tree and will be travelling two to three times each week.

"We are delighted to be back in business after closing two days before the first lockdown in March and we have been closed ever since.

"We are feeling the pinch but were looking to expand and decided to buy Oak Tree Holiday Park and Fishery and hope to reap the benefits with the staycations.

"We have been very busy and my husband has been at Stafford while I have been in Lincolnshire.

"It is very refreshing to be able to reopen.

"It is like a weight has been lifted but, of course, we are sticking to the regulations and everyone has to use their own facilities as the shower block will not open until May.

"It is lovely to see people so happy and out an about and one woman, who had been self-isolating, said that is was so refreshing to be out.

"At Oak Tree we have beautiful fishing lakes and fishing matches were able to start on March 29.

"We are pleased to be back in operation and looking forward to a wonderful summer and to helping everyone in what have been these difficult times.

"It is now a matter of everyone doing what is possible and going out in this country and doing everything possible to build up our country."